Thoughts on Dell Server Build?

1

What do you guys think? What changes would you make?
This Server will act as a Hyper-V Host and will host 2 Hyper-V child machines.
1 Terminal server (20 users) and 1 Domain Controller/AD.
Raid 0 (2 drives) for Host OS, and Raid 10 (4 drives) to store VMs.

2.5 Chassis 379-BDTF - 1 -

2 CPU Configuration 379-BDST - 1 -

PowerEdge T550 Server 210-BBRX - 1 -

Trusted Platform Module 2.0 V3 461-AAIG - 1 -

2.5" Chassis with up to 16 Hard Drives (SAS/SATA), 2 CPU 321-BGWG - 1 -

Intel Xeon Silver 4310T 2.3G, 10C/20T, 10.4GT/s, 15M Cache, Turbo,

HT (105W) DDR4-2666 338-CCDM - 1 -

Intel Xeon Silver 4310T 2.3G, 10C/20T, 10.4GT/s, 15M Cache, Turbo,

HT (105W) DDR4-2666 338-CCDM - 1 -

Additional Processor Selected 379-BDCO - 1 -

Heatsink for 2 CPU configuration (CPU less than or equal to 150W) 412-AAZJ - 1 -

Performance Optimized 370-AAIP - 1 -

3200MT/s RDIMMs 370-AEVR - 1 -

RAID 0 780-BCDL - 1 -

PERC H755 SAS Front 405-AAZB - 1 -

Front PERC Mechanical Parts, rear load 750-ACFQ - 1 -

Power Saving Dell Active Power Controller 750-AABF - 1 -

UEFI BIOS Boot Mode with GPT Partition 800-BBDM - 1 -

Standard Fan x4 384-BCYS - 1 -

Dual, Hot Plug, Redundant Power Supply (1+1), 800W, Mixed Mode 450-AKWS - 1 -

Riser Config1, 2 CPU + 1 GPU Riser 330-BBWT - 1 -

PowerEdge T550 Motherboard 329-BGKJ - 1 -

iDRAC9, Enterprise 15G 385-BBQV - 1 -

Broadcom 57412 Dual Port 10GbE SFP+, OCP NIC 3.0 540-BCNT - 1 -

Dell EMC Luggage Tag T550 325-BEGT - 1 -

Parallax Security Bezel, Two Layer Door 325-BEGZ - 1 -

Assembly BOSS Blank 329-BGJO - 1 -

No Quick Sync 350-BCGQ - 1 -

iDRAC,Factory Generated Password 379-BCSF - 1 -

iDRAC Group Manager, Enabled 379-BCQV - 1 -

Windows Server 2022 Standard,16CORE,FI,No Med,No CAL, Multi

Language 634-BYJY - 1 -

Page 3

Dell Marketing LP. U.S. only. Dell Marketing LP. is located at One Dell Way, Mail Stop 8129, Round Rock, TX 78682

Windows Server 2022 Standard,16CORE,Digitally Fulfilled Recovery

Image, Multi Language 528-CSCP - 1 -

Windows Server 2022 Standard,16CORE,Media Kit, Multi Language 634-BYLJ - 1 -

Windows Server 2022 Standard,No Media,WS2019 Std Downgrade

DF Media, Multi Language 528-CSCQ - 1 -

Windows Server 2022 Standard,No Media, WS2019 Std Downgrade

w/DVD Media,Multi Lang 634-BYLQ - 1 -

Hyper-V role enabled with pre-installed Standard or Datacenter Ed

OS on incl Virtual HDD 618-BBEC - 1 -

DVD +/-RW, SATA, Internal 429-ABLS - 1 -

No Systems Documentation, No OpenManage DVD Kit 631-AACK - 1 -

PowerEdge T550 Shipping 340-CWUS - 1 -

PowerEdge T550 Shipping Material 340-CWUT - 1 -

PowerEdge Non BIS Marking 389-DYHB - 1 -

PowerEdge T550 CE, CCC, Marking 389-EBJY - 1 -

Basic Next Business Day 36 Months 709-BBFL - 1 -

ProSupport and 4Hr Mission Critical Initial, 36 Month(s) 865-BBNB - 1 -

ProSupport and 4Hr Mission Critical Extension, 24 Month(s) 865-BBNC - 1 -

ENT CONFIG SVCS,FEE, RAID 1 SINGLE CONTAINER ON 2HDD 366-0227 - 1 -

ENT CONFIG SVCS,FEE, RAID 10 SINGLE CONTAINER ON 4HDD 366-0225 - 1 -

On-Site Installation Declined 900-9997 - 1 -

16GB RDIMM, 3200MT/s, Dual Rank 370-AEVQ - 4 -

480GB SSD SATA Read Intensive 6Gbps 512 2.5in Hot-plug AG

Drive, 1 DWPD 400-AXTV - 2 -

1.92TB SSD SATA Read Intensive 6Gbps 512 2.5in Hot-plug AG

Drive, 1 DWPD, 400-AXSD - 4 -

C13 to C14, PDU Style, 12 AMP, 6.5 Feet (2m) Power Cord, North

America 492-BBDI - 2 -

Windows Server 2022 Standard Edition, Add License,2CORE,NO

MEDIA/KEY 634-BYJX - 2 -

1-pack of Windows Server 2022 Remote Desktop Services, User 634-BYKF - 3 -

1-pack of Windows Server 2022/2019 User CALs (Standard or

Datacenter) 634-BYKJ

3 -

5-pack of Windows Server 2022 Remote Desktop Services, User 634-BYKI - 6 -

10-pack of Windows Server 2022/2019 User CALs (Standard or

Datacenter) 634-BYKG - 3 -

2

If you are only running two VMs this server is overkill. Since you have so many cores it’ll cost you much more than is needed in licensing too. I would do a single 8-core processor with 32GB memory and two 1.92TB SSDs in RAID1.

3

Seems like a good build, my main test server has 2 12core xeons and 256GB RAM. Then my second server has 2x10 core xeons and 128GB RAM, coming down to another with 2x8 core xeon with 64GB RAM. The lower spec is used for a TreNAS Core server, the mid spec is a proxmox server and the top spec is an ESXi server.

This setup would for sure give you a good foundation to build off with tons of room for experiments.

4

Why RAID 0?
Explain the justification for that specification after the OS partition is lost and the entire resource is offline.

5

My mistake. I meant RAID 1.

6

I haven’t priced out a Dell server in awhile and the windows server licensing has changed somewhat. It appears that there may be a 16 core allocation per socket for the Windows Server 2022 standard edition. if that is the case I’d lean towards a single 16c processor simply because at the pair of 10c/20t you’re licensing 32 cores of MS server but only using 20 of them. the upcharge to the silver 16c/32t is only ~ $144.

moving onto memory. “only 64 GB of non-ECC memory”. I’d spec 64 GB into a new laptop build at minimum. Ideally you’d look into how many memory controller channels on the mainboard are available and how to populate them effectively. Too few modules can reduce the effective memory bandwidth.

The silver CPUs seem to only support 2666 MHz memory speeds. You’ve giving up the punch of the 3200 MHz memory by using a pair of processors that only support 2666 MHz. That’s a 20% boost in memory bandwidth.

Intel® Xeon® Gold 6326 2.9G, 16C/32T, 11.2GT/s, 24M Cache, Turbo, HT (185W) DDR4-3200

1 socket, 16 cores, 3200 MHz memory speed support for an upcharge of $1302.
Use the MS server cores that you license, have the faster memory speed, use less power than if both processor sockets were populated (but seeing as its rated for 185W and the other pair at 240W total that isn’t that much of a reduction).

Right. Hyper-V plus 2 guests: a terminal server and a domain controller. skip the 2nd CPU. drop the 2nd Windows Server 2022 license and make certain that all of the memory controller channels for the single processor are populated. You’re saving a grand in license fees by skipping the 2nd processor.

Downsides of a single processor: fewer PCIe lanes, fewer memory controller channels.
If you have lots of PCIe slots populated you might be cramped by only having a single processor socket populated. This is a problem for the Dell Tech to solve. You’re ordering a new custom built system. you’re paying for their expertise over a white box.

So while you say that its just going to run Hyper-V and a pair of guests, just like a gas the workload expands to fill the available capacity. Next thing you know you’ll be hosting files on this (too many open bays) and whoa do file servers like to have memory available. Why get the 16 x 2.5" bay model if you’re just going to leave the bays empty?

Having the response provided by the terminal server as “snappy” will be appreciated by its users.
I’m in favor of the faster processor speed, faster memory bandwith and only populating a single socket.

7

Updated:

Description SKU Unit Price Quantity Subtotal
2.5 Chassis 379-BDTF - 1 -
2 CPU Configuration 379-BDST - 1 -
PowerEdge T550 Server 210-BBRX - 1 -
Trusted Platform Module 2.0 V3 461-AAIG - 1 -
2.5" Chassis with up to 16 Hard Drives (SAS/SATA), 2 CPU 321-BGWG - 1 -
Intel Xeon Silver 4310T 2.3G, 10C/20T, 10.4GT/s, 15M Cache, Turbo,
HT (105W) DDR4-2666 338-CCDM - 1 -
Intel Xeon Silver 4310T 2.3G, 10C/20T, 10.4GT/s, 15M Cache, Turbo,
HT (105W) DDR4-2666 338-CCDM - 1 -
Additional Processor Selected 379-BDCO - 1 -
Heatsink for 2 CPU configuration (CPU less than or equal to 150W) 412-AAZJ - 1 -
Performance Optimized 370-AAIP - 1 -
3200MT/s RDIMMs 370-AEVR - 1 -
RAID 0 780-BCDL - 1 -
PERC H755 SAS Front 405-AAZB - 1 -
Front PERC Mechanical Parts, rear load 750-ACFQ - 1 -
Power Saving Dell Active Power Controller 750-AABF - 1 -
UEFI BIOS Boot Mode with GPT Partition 800-BBDM - 1 -
Standard Fan x4 384-BCYS - 1 -
Dual, Hot Plug, Redundant Power Supply (1+1), 800W, Mixed Mode 450-AKWS - 1 -
Riser Config1, 2 CPU + 1 GPU Riser 330-BBWT - 1 -
PowerEdge T550 Motherboard 329-BGKJ - 1 -
OpenManage Enterprise Advanced 528-BIYY - 1 -
iDRAC9, Enterprise 15G 385-BBQV - 1 -
Broadcom 57412 Dual Port 10GbE SFP+, OCP NIC 3.0 540-BCNT - 1 -
Dell EMC Luggage Tag T550 325-BEGT - 1 -
Parallax Security Bezel, Two Layer Door 325-BEGZ - 1 -
Assembly BOSS Blank 329-BGJO - 1 -
No Quick Sync 350-BCGQ - 1 -
iDRAC,Factory Generated Password 379-BCSF - 1 -
iDRAC Group Manager, Enabled 379-BCQV - 1 -
Page 3
Dell Marketing LP. U.S. only. Dell Marketing LP. is located at One Dell Way, Mail Stop 8129, Round Rock, TX 78682
Windows Server 2022 Standard,16CORE,FI,No Med,No CAL, Multi
Language 634-BYJY - 1 -
Windows Server 2022 Standard,16CORE,Digitally Fulfilled Recovery
Image, Multi Language 528-CSCP - 1 -
Windows Server 2022 Standard,16CORE,Media Kit, Multi Language 634-BYLJ - 1 -
Windows Server 2022 Standard,No Media,WS2019 Std Downgrade
DF Media, Multi Language 528-CSCQ - 1 -
Windows Server 2022 Standard,No Media, WS2019 Std Downgrade
w/DVD Media,Multi Lang 634-BYLQ - 1 -
Hyper-V role enabled with pre-installed Standard or Datacenter Ed
OS on incl Virtual HDD 618-BBEC - 1 -
DVD +/-RW, SATA, Internal 429-ABLS - 1 -
No Systems Documentation, No OpenManage DVD Kit 631-AACK - 1 -
PowerEdge T550 Shipping 340-CWUS - 1 -
PowerEdge T550 Shipping Material 340-CWUT - 1 -
PowerEdge Non BIS Marking 389-DYHB - 1 -
PowerEdge T550 CE, CCC, Marking 389-EBJY - 1 -
Basic Next Business Day 36 Months 709-BBFL - 1 -
ProSupport and 4Hr Mission Critical Initial, 36 Month(s) 865-BBNB - 1 -
ProSupport and 4Hr Mission Critical Extension, 24 Month(s) 865-BBNC - 1 -
ENT CONFIG SERVICES, FAILOVER DISK, HOTSPARE 366-0221 - 1 -
ENT CONFIG SVCS,FEE, RAID 1 SINGLE CONTAINER ON 2HDD 366-0227 - 1 -
ENT CONFIG SVCS,FEE, RAID 10 SINGLE CONTAINER ON 4HDD 366-0225 - 1 -
On-Site Installation Declined 900-9997 - 1 -
16GB RDIMM, 3200MT/s, Dual Rank 370-AEVQ - 8 -
480GB SSD SATA Read Intensive 6Gbps 512 2.5in Hot-plug AG
Drive, 1 DWPD 400-AXTV - 2 -
1.92TB SSD SATA Read Intensive 6Gbps 512 2.5in Hot-plug AG
Drive, 1 DWPD, 400-AXSD - 5 -
C13 to C14, PDU Style, 12 AMP, 6.5 Feet (2m) Power Cord, North
America 492-BBDI - 2 -
Windows Server 2022 Standard Edition, Add License,2CORE,NO
MEDIA/KEY 634-BYJX - 2 -
1-pack of Windows Server 2022 Remote Desktop Services, User 634-BYKF - 3 -
1-pack of Windows Server 2022/2019 User CALs (Standard or
Datacenter) 634-BYKJ - 3 -
5-pack of Windows Server 2022 Remote Desktop Services, User 634-BYKI - 6 -
10-pack of Windows Server 2022/2019 User CALs (Standard or
Datacenter) 634-BYKG
3 -
Quantity Subtotal
480GB SSD SATA Read Intensive 6Gbps 512n 2.5in Hot-plug Drive,
5100 Pro, 1 DWPD, CK
Description SKU Unit Price Quantity Subtotal
Dell 480 GB Solid State Drive Serial ATA Read Intensive 6Gbps 512n
2.5 inch Hot-plug Drive - 5100 Pro, 1 DWPD, 876 TBW, CK 400-AYVR - 1 -